IC Squash: It was a Roller! (coaster weekend)
Great Expectations were weighing heavily on the shoulders of IC Squash as they returned to this year’s Roehampton University Cup as the defending champions.
The Roehampton University Cup attracts the best university teams in the country, each of them competing for the prize of a year’s membership at Roehampton and their names on the prestigious trophy.
Imperial’s 1st team, who were also defending champions, had a tough draw during the group stage with local London rivals and many’s pick for the title this year, LSE. Meanwhile, Imperial’s 2nd team would attempt to forge their way to the final on the other side of the draw in the hope of setting up an all-Imperial clash.
The group stages took place on Saturday, with Imperial 1st opening their campaign with a closely fought 3-2 win over LSE, but there were worrying signs. String 1 and PSA pro, Seigo “top shot knot” Masuda suffered a defeat at the hands of Singapore number 5 and fellow PSA pro Chua Man Chin in a closely contested match. IC’s Patrick “The Tree Chopper” Brandl succumbed in a closely fought match at string 3. So while Dave “nudeman” Newman, Pam “the merciless” Hathway and James “The Hound” McCouat serenely swept their opponents aside, IC squash knew that, were they to meet LSE again in the knockout stages, victory was far from certain.
Imperial 2nd also had their share of success. Their campaign involved no shortage of drama with team captain, Tom “Yorkshire” Readshaw suffering from a serious case of gender-neutral flu. However, this only spurred the team on, with third string Cam “it’s a roller” Morrison securing some especially crucial victories for their spot in the knockout stages.
Saturday evening was spent fraternising with the enemy over a Roehampton home cooked lasagne and a special treat for the dessert: a Q&A session with world number 6 and Commonwealth silver medallist, Sarah-Jane “The Markswoman” Perry. It was truly inspiring to hear from a professional athlete with similar academic background to many of IC squash students (S-J completed an engineering degree before turning pro).
Sunday began with both IC teams competing in the quarter-finals. The 1sts against a strong Durham team and the 2nds against last year’s semi finalists Leicester. Leicester proved too strong for the 2nds this time round. But a quarterfinal finish alongside other 1st teams certainly shows that IC Squash has strength in depth to be proud of.
As for the 1sts, they brushed Durham aside with a resounding 5-0 victory. Revenge was then swiftly enacted on Leicester in the semi-finals with another convincing 5-0 win. Then came time for the Final everyone had been talking about, not least the LSE team who were overheard in the dressing room plotting our downfall – they had sussed us out. They thought Seigo stood no chance against the “dragon slayer” from Singapore, “The Tree Chopper” had been felled once and would be again. James, Pam and Dave had got lucky in the first round, and now the mighty LSE would expose our one-dimensional games…
Well, Dave, Pam and Seigo were up first. Inspired by S-J the evening before, Dave and Pam hit their targets with poise and precision, imposing themselves without even dropping a single game. Seigo, recovering from his earlier loss, deployed a tactical masterclass. The slaying of the slayer ensured the title was once again in IC Squash hands. Two strings remained – dead rubbers? No chance. Enter “The Tree Chopper” and “The Hound” to ensure there was no silver lining for the LSE. A 5-0 emphatic championship victory! All credit to LSE for their fighting spirit and they will certainly be back next year to challenge us again for the title. In the meantime though… IC squash is on fire!
